A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION Woodland Hills, California Volume 138 - Issue 3
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
Music instructors take the stage
The Pierce College Samba Club is open to anybody who loves music and culture
PHOTO BY JAY ABRIL. Kevin Good performs at Pierce College Performing Arts Building in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 9, 2023.
BY NICOLE KHAIT Reporter
W
ith surdo bass drums beating and striking sounds of Agogo bells ringing, the percussive sound of Brazil made its way to the hills of Pierce College. The Pierce Faculty Recital Concert was held at the Performing Arts Building Thursday, playing Brazilian samba music and classical pieces as well. The performers included clarinetist Ryan Espinosa, percussionist Kevin Good and pianist Jason Stoll.
The recital’s opening number premiered the new Pierce samba club, which included four students playing alongside Good. Good said that he wanted to make sure people know the cultural context of the music. “It's music that's meant to be played by a community, not necessarily trained musicians,” Good said. “It's just coming with the spirit of wanting to learn new things, learn about this music, and play with other people.” Good teaches percussion classes at Pierce and wanted students to have the opportunity to learn new instruments and explore different cultural music. Good also started the
PHOTO BY JAY ABRIL. Jason Stoll plays the xylophone at Pierce College Performing Arts Building in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 9, 2023.
PHOTO BY JAY ABRIL. Ryan Espinosa performs on stage at the Pierce College Performing Arts Building in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 9, 2023.
Pierce Samba Club, a new percussion club that focuses on Brazilian samba music. “I love teaching that music and love playing that music,” Good said. “I just wanted to be able to do more with it. So I suggested in our rehearsals, if people were interested, maybe we could continue it as a club. And eventually, maybe make it into a class.” Espinosa, the applied music instructor, played two clarinet solos. Espinosa teaches clarinet at Pierce and will be the musical director for the upcoming Pierce production of “Rent.” “The things that I sort of bring to the campus are my own musical
and being collaborative is that we run into issues that we don't get to do in our solo practices. So preparation wise, I felt pretty confident in the concert today.” Pierce student Maurice Klein attended the faculty recital, as he said he is a music lover himself. He expressed his passion for music and live concerts. “I enjoy concerts and the more I come, the more interested I get,” said Klein. “I picture myself sitting on stage, performing for people, and it has been my hobby ever since I was little.” Espinosa shared a few words of encouragement and wisdom for
experiences. I go perform out and I bring those experiences to students,” said Espinosa. “When you’re a musician, a lot of times you bring your outside professional experiences back to the classroom.” Stoll accompanied Espinosa in an melodic instrumental duet. The combination of the lyrical piano tone, and the sharp, rhythmic sound of the clarinet emerged smoothly. Both musicians played with passion and force, leaving the room filled with ecstatic energy. “It is a very challenging piece so we had to do it slowly a few times and kind of workout ensemble issues,” Espinosa said. “But a lot of the fun in doing that kind of work
young, aspiring musicians at Pierce College. “All the little things that you're doing right now in preparation for your next performance is a step to your future,” Espinosa said. “They're not there to expect perfection. They're just expecting excellence, and that's your role to have. Strive for excellence, not perfection.” The Pierce Samba Club is open to anyone who wants to learn about Brazilian music and the culture surrounding it, and no prior musical context or background is required to join. Nkhait.roundupnews@gmail.com
Academic Senate Meets IRL
For the first time in three years, meetings are back in person on campus
BY JENNIFER TANZIL & SOPHIA CANO Reporters
T
he Academic Senate at Pierce College returned to campus Monday, marking their first meeting in person since Covid restrictions shut down schools. The meeting was held live in the 600 Building as well as on Zoom to discuss curriculum policy updates as well as other items on the agenda. Interim President Ara Aguiar discussed updates on the campus pools, which were shut down in October due to damages. Aguiar didn’t have an exact answer on when the pools would be fixed, but she was able to give some more information as to where the repairs stand. “They’ve completed one level of assessment,” Aguiar said. “They’ve established that there are some chemical title agents that
are negatively impacting all of the infrastructure.” The pools are expected to go through more levels of assessment to find out how much damage there is and to determine the costs of repairs. Academic Senate Treasurer Alex Villata proposed a budget that is almost $3,000 higher than the 20212022 school year budget. “You can see the differences this year from last year due to price changing and inflation,” Villata said. He also added that a yearly $3,000 check from the ESA is still available and must be spent before the Mar 30 deadline. Villata and others proposed that in the future, the Senate will have to consider increasing academic dues and make hard choices on expenditures. Currently, there isn’t much participation in paying academic dues. Articulation Officer Cristina Rodriguez announced that the school will receive word on decisions made regarding the courses that were
PHOTO BY ASHLEY SHELLMIRE. The Aquatic Center competeitive pool is closed due to copping falling, at Pierce College in Woodland hills Calif., on March 3, 2023.
submitted for General Education (GE) review in May. The new California General Education Transfer Curriculum (CalGETC) requirements are also set to be revealed then. “A memo from the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges was released indicating that the CalGETC will be the only general education pathway for the Associate Degree for Transfer,” Rodriguez said. She also mentioned that the California State University (CSU) system, however, has no plan to discontinue the CSU GE breadth pattern. More information on transfer degree requirements will come in May. Associated Student Organization President Qais Azizi provided a reminder about ASO meeting times, which are Tuesdays at 1 p.m. in the ASO conference room. ASO will be holding elections for the fall semester. The election will include senator, officer and student representative positions. In addition to attending the ASO meetings, the elected students will also be expected to attend the academic senate meetings. “If you happen to know any students, or maybe if you want to spread the word, that’d be great for whoever wants to get involved in student government,” Azizi said. Azizi encourages students who want to participate in student government and committees to join. scano.roundupnews@gmail.com jtanzil.roundupnews@gmail.com
PHOTO BY DANIELA RAYMUNDO. Faculty participate at the first in person Academic Senate meeting after Covid hit at the Faculty and Staff Center at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on March 13, 2023.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Opinions (Women's History Month Edition).....2 News....................................................................3 Campus Life.......................................................4 Fashion (Winter Fits).........................................5 Sports.................................................................6